-
Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.
Ziff Davis selling 1up, EGM, rest of game division.
- Thread starter Costanza
- Start date
cartman414
Member
Shard said:
Didn't c|net just buy Gamespot along with ZDNet?
I will be shocked if the new owners don't get rid of EGM and the other mags. Shit is a sinkhole nowadays, and I'd be really surprised if readership hasn't been slowly fading year after year. Not that it's the fault of any of the crew though, but it's just the nature of this industry's relationship with technology and the internet. Magazines just don't work like they used to anymore, and it's a problem that isn't getting anything but worse as time goes on.
I think 1UP sits in a great spot to be positioned as the leader among the online gaming sites, and a major refocus and strengthening within right now, during this generational shift, is the best time for it.
I think 1UP sits in a great spot to be positioned as the leader among the online gaming sites, and a major refocus and strengthening within right now, during this generational shift, is the best time for it.
Segata Sanshiro
Member
Rlan said:True, there are some stupid companies out there
But in terms of the financial news, well,w ouldn't that be one of the reasons why OPM got taken out back?
Certainly could be. I guessed the main reason was that Sony wanted to pull the demo disc and ZD didn't see a good financial reason to continue it without. But yeah, it had to be a factor, maybe the biggest one, maybe not.
Dr. Kitty Muffins
Member
2007 is setting itself up to be one of the most interesting years ever!
SaggyMonkey
Member
Maybe in 2007 we'll learn while a grown man continues to let himself be called 'skip' by his peers.
boutrosinit
Street Fighter IV World Champion
GitarooMan said:
Worse; would be a Future Publishing purchase. All integrity = no more.
Grok4Spock
Member
NeoGAF 360 confirmed....sp0rsk said:
The Mighty Schwein
Member
shuri said:
Not that I've read many gaming mags since the early 90s but I miss the days when every issue was as thick as a phone book. Personality? Wuzzat?
Mr. Wednesday
Banned
And I just ordered a 2 year subscription to EGM a couple months ago. :\
I hope it's a smooth transition.
I hope it's a smooth transition.
Segata Sanshiro
Member
Makro said:
You, uh, can't judge a book by its cover?
/straightens tie
lordfroakie
Member
Yay!
Segata Sanshiro
Member
GDJustin said:
Magazines will be around for a long time. Maybe the generation of kids growing up now won't mind losing them, but good luck getting all the readers like me to switch to web exclusive, for all the reasons I listed above. The web mags have a long way to go before they can purport to fill in all of those blanks, and many of them aren't even in their control.
Oldschoolgamer
The physical form of blasphemy
I'm not suprised by this at all. The internet is really doing a number to paper publications. Hope all turns out well.
Segata Sanshiro said:
Regardless of what you want to happen(as your opinion is of course valid), print is dying. Forums and websites are killing it. My rebuttal to your points:
Exclusive content - anything truly relevant will be on GAF, before the magazine hits the stands. Lets say EGM manages to keep something exclusive a secret. "EGM breaks news about ....."will be on GAF page 1 before the mag circulates.
Attractive and easy to read formatting - sure, but attractive enough to warrant the cost of the magazine? Not likely.
Portability - Sounds like you need a new phone. I have access to GAF from anywhere(even the toilet!) in a higly readable format. I post quite frequently from my phone.
easy to flip through a large source of information - when you find a magazine that is easier to flip through than a search function on a website, let me know.
higher quality writing - good point here, but immediacy still wins the day to my mind
hard on the eyes - epaper is coming quicker than you think. There are perfect contrast ebook readers available now.
pop ups - you using internet explorer? this has been long solved.
works every time - again, worth the money? Not to enough people apparently. Ill take free with the occasional glitch myself.
Magazines geared towards older less tech savvy readers(Old people monthly?) still have some legs. Anything else is going to keep getting squeezed. The next 10 years will be a bloodbath.
Chris Remo
Member
Tobor said:
While I agree that (sadly) gaming print publications' days are numbered, most of your reasons apply only to the most technological savvy people, not your random guys who buy Game Informer to read about Halo 3. E-paper? Scouring web forums full of wackos to read a story a day before your issue arrives at your home? Posting on those web forums from your cell phone? Hell, using something other than Internet Explorer? This stuff really isn't interesting or useful to average gamers.
Segata Sanshiro
Member
On news, codes, and partially on reviews, the internet has won the day. There's no question. By exclusive content I was more referring to features, which are sometimes photo-rich and layout dependent. I have no illusions about the waning popularity of print, but extinction is a long way away.
Attractive and easier to read formatting along with high quality writing that works everytime will always be worth the money to me. Sometimes, you get what you pay for.
I've yet to find a website search function easier and more reliable than an index and my fingers.
Perfect contrast is still a screen, not paper. There is absolutely a difference that they are never going to be able to correct.
As for ads, I suppose I could use an adblocker, but I don't. Pop-ups usually get squashed, but pop-unders and embedded ads still show up with my browser.
On the portability issue, I'm afraid I can't ever see myself enjoying reading pure text content off a tiny screen while on the bus or the throne.
Magazines will go away eventually, I'm sure. But I don't see why people would want them to. As I said before, the inherent weaknesses of the format are the strengths of the web format, and the inherent weaknesses of the web format are the strengths of the print format.
Attractive and easier to read formatting along with high quality writing that works everytime will always be worth the money to me. Sometimes, you get what you pay for.
I've yet to find a website search function easier and more reliable than an index and my fingers.
Perfect contrast is still a screen, not paper. There is absolutely a difference that they are never going to be able to correct.
As for ads, I suppose I could use an adblocker, but I don't. Pop-ups usually get squashed, but pop-unders and embedded ads still show up with my browser.
On the portability issue, I'm afraid I can't ever see myself enjoying reading pure text content off a tiny screen while on the bus or the throne.
Magazines will go away eventually, I'm sure. But I don't see why people would want them to. As I said before, the inherent weaknesses of the format are the strengths of the web format, and the inherent weaknesses of the web format are the strengths of the print format.
Crackerman16
Banned
The Mighty Schwein said:
Thick as a phone book and didn't consist of 50%+ advertising. I used to pay to subscribe to EGM, Gamepro, OPM, and other magazines, but canceled them all when they got filled completely with ads and garbage editorials/ratings.
The only magazine I subscribe to now is PSM. Mostly for toilet reading and a backlog of reviews/ratings/screenshots without having to turn on my laptop and surf the net. Also, they usually tell it the way they see it. So if they feel the need to badmouth Sony, developers, games, hardware, etc., they will. If they feel the need to praise them, they will do that as well. I guess that's the freedom you get when you're independently owned and don't have answer to big corporations writing your checks every month. Of course the downside is, staffing is minimal and content just isn't as meaty as it should be.
StopMakingSense
Member
I could have sworn I first heard this news two or three months ago. Either way, the publications as is would most likely still exist, may get restructured a bit, but the 1up branding effort seems to have won a lot of mindshare over the past year.
POWERSPHERE
Banned
How does a site like 1up actually make money? Those transition ads really pay that much?
Segata Sanshiro
Member
Heh, the phone book ones were 50% ads back then too, but 50% of 500 pages still beat 50% of 200 that we get nowadays. The content today is a lot better though.
I second that. Nowadays, when there is TGS, we see the coverage as it happens instead of waiting for the next issue of EGM to come out 2 months after the actual event. Especially with the football-like nature of gaming industry, the lead time can't be compensated. Sure they can secure a few exclusives, but that's not enough to warrant the future. With today's release schedules, developers release games as games get finalized, so mags enjoying early copy of finished games to review 2 months before everyone else seems a thing of the past.Tobor said:
Crackerman16
Banned
Segata Sanshiro said:
Nah, the ads weren't as prevalent back then as it is today. And I don't believe they were 500 pages back then either, lol...
It wasn't as difficult as people make it sound. Every publisher makes visits to NY regularly to do press tours and show off products to east coast editors and publications, so stopping off at Chicago along the way was no big deal (in fact, most PR people loved it because it gave them an excuse to see the city). We had people visiting us almost every other day when we were in Chicago. I'm sure it still goes on up in Minnesota, too.Chris Remo said:
ZD already had offices in SF, though (CGW mainly, but also EGM's west coast editors), and when it came time to consolidate, SF just made more sense than IL.
KyotoMecca
Member
EMAP USA
Highbury USA
...Future USA lol
Highbury USA
...Future USA lol
BocoDragon
or, How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Realize This Assgrab is Delicious
I'm not really sure what I'd do if EGM dies... I've been reading it since I was 8 years old, and I'm 22 now. It'd be kind of like your religion announcing that it's being discontinued.
mistuhcahlos
Member
Great news. A magazine and website full of a bunch of wankers. Their "everything sucks" attitude is pretty typical among people our age, but it makes for a shit read. Maybe this will finally humble them.
I think the gaming's press is getting even more shrinked as time goes. It's like everything is set to fuse together or fall apart. I just hope these guys, who do a wonderful job at covering the industry, will be able to continue to do what they love without having to change too much their content.